I have only ever seen one amazing thing on Twitter and it was when Steve Martin was live-tweeting an imaginary ping-pong match as the Sandy Hook shooting unfolded. People kept telling him to stop and he just kept on going for hours oblivious until he finally turned on the TV and figured it out. He sent an apology tweet and then gave up Twitter for like a month like he had suddenly realized he had a problem. I kept wondering if he was ever coming back.

I like Patton Oswalt, I follow him on Twitter, but I have the feeling he thinks he is more important than he actually is.

His blog post about joke thievery, Heckling & Rape jokes confirms this*. When you get to Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor or Carlin stature, than you can lecture other people how to behave. Until then, you just a comedian that had a bit part on a TV show with a better comedian as its star, and some bit parts in some movies.

Gunderson:I like Patton Oswalt, I follow him on Twitter, but I have the feeling he thinks he is more important than he actually is.

He thinks the entire profession of comedy is more important that it is. It's pretty obvious how fascinated he is by the art of crafting a joke. And, to that end, I'm happy he was able to find a line of work he was destined to have. But he seems to think the average comedy club goer is similarly interested in knowing how the sausage is made and has serious thoughts on which comedian is better than another or if punchline A "works" better than punchline B. I'm not saying he's wrong for being excited about his passion, but he's yet to reach the point where he knows it's okay if his fans don't share the passion.

The Great EZE:Gunderson: I like Patton Oswalt, I follow him on Twitter, but I have the feeling he thinks he is more important than he actually is.

He thinks the entire profession of comedy is more important that it is. It's pretty obvious how fascinated he is by the art of crafting a joke. And, to that end, I'm happy he was able to find a line of work he was destined to have. But he seems to think the average comedy club goer is similarly interested in knowing how the sausage is made and has serious thoughts on which comedian is better than another or if punchline A "works" better than punchline B. I'm not saying he's wrong for being excited about his passion, but he's yet to reach the point where he knows it's okay if his fans don't share the passion.

That's a horrible benchmark . I can say the same thing about Nickleback, George W. Bush & Donald Trump

Not really. The Great EZE was saying Patton Oswalt did not understand what was important to an audience. If The Great EZE is so clear on why Patton Oswalt is failing at a basic part of his job, i.e. understanding what the audience wants, then The Great EZE should be raking in more than Oswalt. It is analogous to saying "Henry Ford doesn't understand the early 20th century car-buyer." If you do, you ought to be out-selling Ford.

Same goes for the other three. Nickleback, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump understand their audience, and thus make money. It has jack-all to do with quality and/or artistic/political/financial merit. But complaining the other guy doesn't understand women, while he is balls-deep in a cheerleader (even the hefty, bottom-of-the-pyramid one) and you are cuddling your granny at the prom is more than a wee bit disingenuous.

phalamir:Not really. The Great EZE was saying Patton Oswalt did not understand what was important to an audience. If The Great EZE is so clear on why Patton Oswalt is failing at a basic part of his job, i.e. understanding what the audience wants, then The Great EZE should be raking in more than Oswalt. It is analogous to saying "Henry Ford doesn't understand the early 20th century car-buyer." If you do, you ought to be out-selling Ford.

Oooooh, so it's just a matter of you not knowing how to read.

I never said Patton doesn't understand what's important to an audience. I just said he assumes the average audience member shares his enthusiasm for the nuts and bolts of comedy writing. You need Patton's passion to be a successful performer like him, but not to appreciate his work as a fan.

But I can see how that concept can still be a little confusion so I'll wait until somebody can draw you a picture.